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New Delhi, June 4 (ANI): The Government of India has declared Indian Mujahideen a terrorist organization.
“The Schedule to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 contains the list of terrorist organizations. Government of India has issued an order adding Indian Mujahideen, all its formations and front organizations to this list,” a Ministry of Home Affairs release said. (ANI)
New Delhi, May 21 (ANI): Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Friday said President Pratibha Devisingh Patil would take the decision on the mercy petition of Afzal Guru, an accused in the Parliament attack case.
Dikshit said the file pertaining on the Afzal Guru case had been sent to both the Ministry of Home Affairs and the office of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, and added that their replies are awaited.
“All orders given by the Supreme Court will be followed. However, at the same time, Guru”s wife has moved a mercy petition to the President of India. The file related to the case is with the Home Ministry and the office of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi,” said Dikshit.
“Clearly, I am not in a position to decide Guru”s fate. Then what comment can I give?” she told the media persons, while attending a blood donation camp organized to commemorate the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday protested against the delay by the Delhi Government in giving its opinion on the mercy petition moved by Afzal Guru, to show that this case was one of terrorism alone and had nothing to do with any community in particular.
Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly V.K. Malhotra also criticised the Delhi Government for delaying the hanging of Afzal Guru due to vote bank politics.
Despite dithering by the government on the question of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru”s hanging, Congress on Wednesday made it clear that it favoured such a step at an early date.
“If the Supreme Court convicted Afzal Guru in the Parliament attack case giving him death sentence, there should be no problem in hanging him,” party general secretary Digvijay Singh.
Congress Spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi had said the concerned authorities within the government should decide the matter.
Guru was awarded death sentence by a Delhi court on December 18, 2002 after being convicted of conspiracy to attack Parliament on December 13, 2001, waging war against the country and murder.
Delhi High Court upheld the death sentence on October 29, 2003 and his appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court two years later on August four, 2005.
Following this, Afzal filed a mercy petition with the President, who forwarded it to Union Home Ministry for its comments.
The Union Home Ministry had sent the file to Delhi Government”s Home Department for its comments, as per the laid out procedure.
The 2001 Indian Parliament attack, led to the death of a dozen people; five terrorists, six policemen and a civilian. It also caused increased tensions between India and Pakistan resulting in the 2001-2002 India-Pakistan standoff.
On that day, a group of gun-and grenade-wielding terrorists who stormed the seemingly impregnable Parliament House premises, were stopped dead in their tracks by security men as the nation watched in disbelief. (ANI)
New Delhi, May 4 (ANI): The Central Government has extended the ceasefire agreement with Naga insurgent group National Socialist Council of Nagaland – Khaplang (NSCN-K) for a period of one year with effect from April 28.
This was decided at a meeting of officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs with the representatives of NSCN-K here on Monday.
During the meeting, senior NSCN-K leaders Kughalu Mulatonu and Wangtin Naga stressed on carrying forward the dialogue to bring a lasting solution to the six-decade old insurgency problem.
Both sides reportedly discussed the current situation in Nagaland and implementation of the ceasefire ground rules.
The rebel leaders also raised the issue of starting separate talks with the Centre since rival National Socialist Council of Nagaland- Isak Muivah (NSCN-IM) is already in talks with the Centre.
The government had entered into a ceasefire with NSCN-K for the first time on April 30, 2001. But it has been extended every year since then. (ANI)
Kathua (J-K), Mar 30 (ANI): In its special drive against drug abuse, the 121 battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is organising a seven-day drug de-addiction camp in Jammu and Kashmir”s Kathua District.
The aim of the camp, being organised in association with the Ministry of Home Affairs, was to fight social evils in the society and to educate the masses, especially the youth about the ills of drug-abuse.
In this connection, a special rally was taken out on Monday in which students from various educational institutions participated.
V K Tiwari, second-in-command, 121 battalion, CRPF said: “The root cause of militancy is drugs. If the youth choose the wrong path then they get involved in crimes and drug abuse, which in turn gives rise to militancy. So we thought as we fight militancy, why not fight this evil as well. Moreover, the main source of funding of militancy is drugs and it”s more dangerous than militancy to our society”.
A special check-up camp is also being organised wherein doctors are giving free counselling to the drug-affected youth.
The camp received an overwhelming response with a large number of youth registering their names. (ANI)
Kolkata, Mar 27 (ANI): Maoist leader Kishanji may have been injured in a gun battle between security forces and the rebels inside the Lakhanpur forest in West Bengal”s Paschim Medinipur District.
“Kishanji is suspected to have been seriously injured during the seven-hour-long gun-battle between security forces and the rebels, and is believed to be undergoing treatment at a secret location in the district by local quacks,” quoted The Hindu.
It has been reported that during the exchange of fire the rebels suffered heavy casualties and the police suspect the casualty figure to be at least ten.
The West Bengal Police has refused to comment on whether Kishanji was injured, but the State”s Director General of Police (DGP) Bhupinder Singh, has said there was a possibility of a top Maoist leader being present at the gun battle site.
“It is suspected that several of those rebels injured in the firing have succumbed to their injuries.” There was also a report that a student of the city-based Jadavpur University was one of the Maoists killed in the exchange of fire,” Singh, adding there was no confirmation.
Based on inputs from several channels of information, including the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Intelligence Branch of Andhra Pradesh, The Hindu reports that Kishanji might have “suffered serious bullet injuries, if not killed.”
It has been reported that the Maoists started firing more heavily than as they moved away from the area, the tactic used by the rebels to shift the bodies of their slain comrades so that the police cannot recover them. (ANI)
New Delhi, Sep 10(ANI): A Union Cabinet meeting on Thursday discussed topics, including the revamping of the National Rural Health Mission and approval for the signing and ratification of the BIMST (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand) Convention.
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said: “This convention will provide strong legal basis for cooperation among the law enforcement agencies of the BIMST member states. It will give a much needed thrust to the enforcement agencies of the BIMST member states which are Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand.”
The proposal will be signed during the forthcoming BIMST Ministerial Conference.
On the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), Soni said: “The mission (National Rural Health Mission) now seeks to provide universal access to affordable and quality healthcare which is accountable and at the same time responsive to the needs of the people.”
She said the Government would launch an annual health survey in some states to provide feedback on the impact of schemes underthe NRHM on health indicators like Maternal Mortality Rates and Total Fertility Rates.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in collaboration with the Registrar General of India, Ministry of Home Affairs will be conducting the survey and would compute the statistics, she added. (ANI)
New Delhi, Sep 9 (ANI): The International Security Liaison Group in the Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday organised a security briefings on forthcoming Commonwealth Games going to be held in 2010.
Some 30 Heads Heads of Missions of the Commonwealth countries attended the briefing conference chaired by the Union Home Secretary.
Onkar Kedia, spokesman for the ministry, said that a three-tier foolproof security apparatus would be provided to players during the games.
“In the Heads of Missions conference the distinguished esteemed excellencies were informed about the provisions for the security during the Commonwealth Games. We told them about the security and other measures being planned for players during the games. We told them that a three-tier security will be arranged and they looked quite convinced with our plan of action,” said Kedia.
The Ministry of Sports and the Organising Committee also gave presentations on the status of infrastructure and logistics respectively, while the IB and the Delhi Police gave presentations on the security arrangements for the Commonwealth Games.
The International Security Liaison Group will hold another 2-day international conference of the security liaison officers of the participating countries and the Commonwealth Games Associations on September 23 and 24.
Some 9000 athletes and officials of 52 Commonwealth countries are likely to participate in various events during the Games. (ANI)
New Delhi, July 3 (ANI): In a bid to modernize country’s paramilitary forces, Centre will provide arms, ammunition and vehicles worth 500 crore rupees to seven paramilitary forces by September end.
According to the Action Plan -II of the Ministry of Home Affairs, orders worth 500 crore rupees will be processed by the Central Paramilitary Forces (CPMFs) and Ministry of Home Affairs.
Action plans of all seven CPMFs – CRPF, BSF, CISF, ITBP, SSB, NSG and Assam Rifles have been approved and the actual procurement will be made soon, it said.
Review meetings will be held between ministry and the CPMFs to anticipate and remove potential bottlenecks.
A total of Rs 1,500 crore has been allocated in the current fiscal for the seven CPMFs under the five provisioning heads arms and ammunition, clothing, tentage and stores, machinery and equipment and vehicles and IT.
Home Ministry has already finalised the process of procurement of interceptor boats for coastal security scheme.
The annual maintenance contract for these boats and procurement of ten 12-ton interceptor boats for Andaman and Nicobar Islands will be made by August 30.
The government will also take approval of competent authority for the courier service for personnel of CPMFs by 15th July. (ANI)
New Delhi, July 1 (ANI): Raman Srivastava has been appointed as the next Director General (DG) of the Border Security Force (BSF).
Srivastava will replace M.L.Kumawat who retires on July 31. He will be the Director General of the BSF from August 1 until his superannuation on October 31, 2011 or till further orders.
Currently, Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Srivastava is an IPS officer of the 1973 batch and belongs to the Kerala Cadre. (ANI)
New Delhi, June 19 (ANI): The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) today approved the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) Project within the outlay of Rs.2000 crore in the 11th Five Year Plan.
This project would be initiated by the Ministry of Home Affairs and implemented by the National Crime Records Bureau. The CCTNS project is to be implemented in a manner where the major role would lie with the State Governments in order to bring in the requisite stakes, ownership and commitment, and only certain core components would be in the hands of the central Government, apart from the required review and monitoring of project implementation on a continuing basis.
The CCTNS project aims at creating a comprehensive and integrated system for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of policing at the Police Station level through adoption of principles of e-Governance, and creation of a nationwide networked infrastructure for evolution of IT-enabled state-of-the-art tracking system around “investigation of crime and detection of criminals” in the real time. This is a critical requirement in the context of the present day internal security scenario.
The broad objectives of the CCTNS project are streamlining investigation and prosecution processes, strengthening of intelligence gathering machinery, improved public delivery system and citizen-friendly interface, nationwide sharing of information across on crime and criminals and improving efficiency and effectiveness of police functioning.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, Home Minister P. Chidambaram said, that the project will be implemented in such a manner that the major role will be played by the state governments in order to bring in the requisite stakes and only core components will be in the hands of Center government.
“The Central government will keep reviewing and monitoring of project implementation,” he added. (ANI)
New Delhi, May 30 (ANI): Mullappally Ramachandran assumed charge as Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs here today.
He was welcomed by the Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta and other senior officers of the Ministry.
Immediately after his arrival in North Block, Ramachandran met Union Home Minister P.Chidambaram.
Born on November 7, 1944, Ramachandran was the Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Co-operation in 1991-93. (ANI)
New Delhi, May 25 (IANS) A second 100-day action plan to counter terrorism has been drawn up and would be implemented from June 1, Home Minister P. Chidambaram said Monday.
“As directed by the prime minister, MHA (ministry of home affairs) will draw up another 100-day plan that will be taken up for implementation beginning June 1,” he said in a signed statement distributed at his press conference here.
On Feb 20, Chidambaram had approved a 100-day action plan to be implemented Feb 21-May 31.
“The home secretary has informed me that the action plan has been substantially implemented,” the home minister said.
The 100-day plans are among the various initiatives ordered by Chidambaram in the wake of the Nov 26-29, 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that claimed the lives of more than 170 people, including 26 foreigners.
Another initiative is the establishment here of a Multi-Agency Centre (MAC) tasked with collecting intelligence in real time, optimising intelligence flow and coordinating between different agencies.
In the next stage, SMACs or State Multi-Agency Centres, are to be set up.
Chidambaram said terrorism, Maoist violence, insurgency in the northeast and maintaining public order and communal harmony were the key challenges before the country and he would focus on them.
He also noted that his ministry would implement the promises made in the Congress party’s election manifesto on dealing with the “scourge of terrorism squarely and decisively” and “providing strong leadership to meet the challenge of terrorism”.
Chidambaram said that following the practice he had instituted after assuming office in the wake of the Mumbai massacre, the home ministry would present a report at the end of every month on the tasks that were completed during the month.
“We would welcome an evaluation of our work by the people of the country. I seek your (media’s) cooperation in communicating the work done by the MHA to the people and to bring to our notice the feedback from the people,” the home minister said.
New Delhi, May 21 (ANI): The Defence Ministry has extended the package of special concessions and facilities to employees of the Central Government and its PSUs working in the Kashmir till the yearend.
The Defence Ministry said the allowances admissible to civilian employees till June last year have been extended after a review by the Department of Jammu and Kashmir Affairs of the Ministry of Home Affairs in consultation with the Department of Personnel and Training and the Ministry of Finance.
Among the slew of proposals, the employees posted to Kashmir Valley will continue to be entitled to additional HRA and messing facilities.
Employees who have migrated from Kashmir would be accommodated to the extent possible in Delhi and its vicinity.
The services of employees who were forced to migrate due to the disturbed conditions in the region were earlier regularized and his period of absence has also been largely restored. (ANI)
New Delhi, May 21 (ANI): The Anti-Terrorism Day is being observed throughout the country today.
Employees in the governemnt offices, Public Sector Undertakings and other public institutions in the country took a pledge on the occasion.
Union Home Minister P.Chidambaram administered the oath to the officers and staff of the Ministry of Home Affairs in North Block lawns this morning.
The Day is observed to generate awareness in the country among all sections of people, about the danger of terrorism, violence and its dangerous effect on the people, the society and the country as a whole.
‘The objective behind the observance of the day is to wean away the youth from the terrorist/violence cult by highlighting the suffering of the common people and showing how it is prejudicial to the national interest.
These objectives are aimed to be achieved by organizing debates or discussions in schools, colleges and universities; holding of symposia or seminars, lectures, on the dangers of terrorism and violence and a determined and sustained drive to bring about a mass awakening against terrorism and violence. (ANI)
New Delhi, May 12 (ANI): H. S. Brahma on Tuesday assumed charge as Secretary, Ministry of Power, Government of India.
He was earlier Special Secretary of the National Disaster Management Authority in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Brahma is the Andhra Pradesh cadre officer of the 1975 batch of the Indian Administrative Service. (ANI)
New Delhi, April 26 (ANI): The Centre, in a special order, has allowed an armed personal security officer of the new Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla to accompany him in any civilian flight.
According to official sources, the Ministry of Home Affairs has issued an order in this regard recently.
Navin Chawla currently enjoys ‘Z’ category security. No reason was mentioned for the decision where an armed security officer will be among the passengers.
With such a special order, Chawla has become the first bureaucrat in the country to have this kind of security arrangement.
The Ministry communicated its decision to the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, who subsequently issued an advisory to all airports, the sources said. (ANI)
New Delhi, Apr 22 (ANI): The Conference of Relief Commissioners and Secretaries of Department of Disaster Management of the States and the Union Territories began here today.
The conference is an annual feature, which provides an opportunity to take stock of the preparedness levels of various States and UTs as well as Central Ministries, prior to the ensuing monsoon.
It also provides a platform to share experiences gained while handling the disasters during the last year, common areas of concern as well as initiatives taken on various aspects of disaster management in the country.
Inaugurating the conference, Secretary (Border Management) in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Vinay Kumar stressed the need to take all preparatory steps necessary to meet any eventuality.
He said that there should be no complacency on account of the likelihood of near normal monsoon.
As many as 22 States and 1 Union Territory were affected by different types of natural calamities in varying degrees in 2008. (ANI)
New Delhi, Apr 7 (ANI): The Union Home Ministry on Tuesday refuted media reports of Home Minister P. Chidambaram refusing to answer a question put to him by journalist Jarnail Singh on the “clean chit” given to Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in connection with the 1984 Sikh riots case.
According to a Home Ministry statement, the videotape is there and the Minister answered the question.
“The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) does not come under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Neither the Ministry of Home Affairs nor any other Ministry put of pressure on the CBI. The CBI has only given a report to the Court. It is for the Court to accept the report or reject the report or order the CBI to do further investigation. Let us wait for the Court to take a decision on the report,” Chidambaram is reported to have said.
Earlier, it was reported that Chidambaram had refused to answer and said that he did not want to make any political statement at a platform not meant for it.
Jarnail Singh, an accredited correspondent, then flung his shoes in Chidambaram’s direction.
Later, Singh told NDTV: ” My method (of throwing a shoe) could be wrong, but not my cause. There is no question of apologising for what I did.”
The journalist was perturbed over no action being taken by the government to alleviate the miseries of Sikh riot victims, who had been waiting for 25 years for justice.
In a similar incident, last December, Muntadhar al-Zaidi, an Iraqi journalist with Egypt-based al-Baghdadia television network, had thrown shoes at former President George W. Bush during a news conference in Baghdad. (ANI)
Just after it came out that Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is planning to kidnap or assassinate Indias top scientists, the Government of India beefed up the security of its prominent scientists. The government on Sunday provided “Z” category security to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman G Madhavan Nair, and “Y” category security to six other notable space scientists.
The Union Home Ministry reported that the “Z” category security has been provided to the 65-year-old ISRO Chairman and Secretary of the Department of Space, G. Madhavan Nair, and “Y” category security has been provided to the six other scientists associated with the satellite and rocket divisions, in the wake of the threats to the lives of these scientists.
According to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, Mr. G. Madhavan Nair, who has recently been awarded with the nations second highest civilian award, Padma Vibhushan, after the success of Chandrayaan I, will have an escort and guards round-the-clock, under the Z category security, while the other six scientists will have a Personal Security Officer and two guards, under “Y” category security.
S. Satish, the Director (Public Relations) of ISRO, reported that the Union Home Ministry has issued a security alert and strengthened the security cover for some top scientists of the organization. Mr. Satish also told that the government is also reviewing the security of some prominent scientists, without disclosing their names.
The Union Home Ministry beefed up the security of these scientists, after a Lashkar militant, Furfur Nawaz alias Shabaz Nawaz, whos recently been deported from a Gulf country, disclosed Lashkar-e-Taiba is planning to either kidnap or assassinate some of the top Indian scientists including Nair. Sarfaraz Nawaz was being interrogated by the Karnataka police in connection with the 2008 Bangalore blasts, when he made these revelations.
Sarfaraz Nawaz also disclosed that Jasim, another Pakistani militant told him that LeT was planning to target top Indian scientists, including a woman Muslim scientist from UP working on the Agni missile. According to Shabaz Nawaz, Jasim mentioned the names of G Madhavan Nair, Alex, Sajivnath, Suresh Kumar and a female Muslim scientist from UP (a lady scientist working in Agni missile project).
New Delhi, Mar 31 (ANI): Union Defence Minister A. K. Antony on Tuesday asked all concerned agencies to plug gaps in coastal security within a definite time frame.
Antony, who chaired a high-level meeting of officials of various ministries and forces, called for speedy implementation of the maritime security plan, approved by the Government recently.
He said utmost vigilance must be maintained all along the coastline so that the ‘Mumbai like’ incidents don’t recur.
Antony called for regular monitoring of all aspects so that there are no delays in implementation of the maritime security plan.
The meeting reviewed progress made in coastal security and coordinated arrangements for the security of offshore platforms of oil companies, vessel identification system, identity cards for fishermen, installation of coastal radars, joint control room for Navy and Coast Guard, intelligence sharing among all agencies and procurement of boats and aircraft.
The role of State Governments and setting up of Police Stations in Coastal areas also came up for discussion.
The meeting was attended among others by the Cabinet Secretary K. M. Chandrashekar, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sureesh Mehta, Director General Coast Guard Vice Admiral Anil Chopra, Defence Secretary Vijay Singh, Secretaries from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shipping and Fisheries. (ANI)
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